Falling in love with my stepbrother
by smileforyou
Summary: Alex and Justin are stepbrother and stepsister. They can t stand each other and fight day in, day out. But sometimes it just need a moment to change everything. No incest story and the Russo family are no wizards in this story. Just try it :
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Alex you are not going to that party unless your brother is accompanying you. That is my final word," my mom said firmly, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Her gesture said that's the end of the discussion but it was far from over for me. I absolutely needed to go to that party and of course without my dorky stepbrother following me around.

"Maybe you forgot that Justin is not my brother so it´s impossible to fulfil your demand," I answered her back.  
"I don't understand why I can´t go to that party like all my other friends, mom," I added feeling frustrated.

My mom and Jerry got married two years ago and both brought children in that marriage. I was the only child from my mom but Jerry had two sons, Justin and Max. I loved Max, really. He was so cute and lovely, so it was no problem to get used to him, however I couldn´t stand going to the same school as Justin much less living under the same roof as him. He was such a nerd and so annoying, I couldn´t even describe how much of a pain in the neck he was.

"Alex, please start to accept your stepbrother as a part of our family. Why is it that you are all friendly with Max but you explode when you encounter Justin?" My mom asked, already tired from this conversation but I needed a Yes from her.

"Mom, look. He´s a dork and a nerd and totally annoying, He would embarrass me every five minutes at this party. Apart from that, I am pretty sure that he would never go there" I tried to explain, but she shook with her head. Not a good sign.  
"Mom, this party is like the biggest party of the year, so please, please let me go," I pleaded with puppy dog eyes.

She sighed, sitting down on the kitchen chair.  
"Honey, I believe you that it´s something really important, but I also know the consequences from these kind of parties. I was young as well you know. There is going to be alcohol, loud music and boys who are looking for fun and don´t make a halt when they are drunk. Please just take Justin with you and you can go. You don't even have to talk with him; just let him stay in your proximity. So I know if someone will try something, Justin will be there to hinder that."

I sighed dramatically, leaning at the refrigerator.  
"What if Justin is not going?" I asked, curious to know if I still have a chance to go without my stepbrother.

"Where am I not going?" Speak of the devil. Justin broke in on our conversation.  
"I heard my name. Here I am," he said, pushing me rudely away to open the refrigerator.

"How about asking if I can step aside?" I scolded him, receiving a mocking laugh.

"Asks, the least courteous person in the room" he replied sarcastically, reaching for the milk. "So, what were you talking about?"

I just wanted to tell him that it was none of his business, but my mom was first to speak.  
"Justin, are you planning to go to this party tonight?"

I was sure that he would say no, but I had bad luck.  
"Sure, it´s the party of the year, Mason´s house is the place where all cool guys have to be tonight."

I laughed outright, receiving an evil glare from him.  
"So that means that you are not going right? Because you are far away from being cool, Mister I-study-every-free-minute-of-my-life."

When Justin moved in my direction I ran behind the chair my mom was sitting on, hiding behind her.  
"Look at her. First a big mouth and then hiding behind mommy," Justin said, mocking me.

I stepped away from my mom and faced him, pointing my finger in his face.  
"You better-"

I was interrupted when my mom rose from the chair and stood between us.  
"Okay, enough," she said and then turned around to Justin, "if you go to this party I want you to keep an eye on Alex. Can you do that?"

He rolled with his eyes, glancing in my direction.  
"Why? It´s not like any guy would go near her, she´s evil."

I pushed my mom to the side, pinching Justin in his arm.  
"You betcha!" I wanted to pinch him again but he grabbed my wrist, holding me in a safe distance from him.  
"Call yourself lucky that you are a guy and stronger," I said through greeted teeth, trying to release my arm.

"Okay. Stop now!" My mom suddenly yelled and Justin let go of my wrist.  
"You are both making me crazy with your fights day in, day out. Justin if you are going to this party, you are taking Alex with you," she turned around to glare at me, "if you are not willing to go with Justin than you are staying at home. End of discussion!" With that she turned around and left the kitchen.  
"I must have the worst children ever."

I rolled with my eyes, bracing myself against the chair.  
"So, when are we leaving?" I asked lamely as if it wasn´t important for me at all.

"We are leaving when I tell you; we are leaving" Justin replied dryly and winked at me before following my mom into the living room. I really hated him. Things could only get worse; I thought and let out a growl, stomping to my room.

I had decided to get ready early because I had no idea when Justin would leave. I texted Ashley, who wanted to pick me up, that I had to drive with Justin. She texted me back how awesome it was that my stepbrother is coming as well. She must have been brainwashed I assumed, starting with my makeup. Ready to go, I headed to my door, when suddenly Justin burst into my room, scaring me to death.  
"What the heck do you think you are doing?" I yelled at him, after I got my voice back.  
"How about knocking?"

He sat down on my bed, ignoring me totally.  
"I see you are still not ready," he said, watching at the clock.  
"We are leaving in ten minutes." He stood up and I followed him outside my room.

"Don´t come into my room like that ever again and by the way, I AM ready," I said annoyed as he turned around to eye me.

"Ready for what? Going to work the streets?" he asked and I opened my mouth in shock.  
"Look at you! Your mom will kill you if she sees you like this," he added.

I looked down at my knee-length black dress and didn´t understand what he was talking about.  
"Are you serious? I am totally well-dressed so stop playing with me," I retorted, pushing him out of my way. I heard him chuckle and it didn´t take a lot for me to lose my temper.  
"You are so funny Justin. You should make your own comedy act. I am sure everyone will love you, you selfish, annoying nerd!" My face was inches away from his when I saw something flickering in his eyes. I didn´t know if it was because of what I said or something else but I felt weird all of a sudden. I stepped away and took a deep breath.  
"I am waiting downstairs," I added meekly.

When we were driving to Mason´s place I couldn´t stand the silence. It was not normal for us to be so quiet around each other. I coughed slightly, playing with one of my earrings.  
"About the party," I started slowly, wondering while I was acting that strange.  
"You don´t have to watch my every step" I said, trying to fill the silence.

Justin was looking at the road, nodding.  
"I didn´t intend to follow you around. I want to have fun and not play a babysitter, so take care of yourself," he replied grumpy, not looking at me.  
"Don´t worry, I will not embarrass you," he added.  
"The only time I will talk to you is before we are heading home."

I wanted to thank him but I guessed it was not really necessary, since he was only doing himself a favor. "Sounds good," I said and we didn´t talk the rest of the 20 minutes' drive.

When we arrived at Mason´s mansion, actually his parent´s mansion, I was glad to finally leave the car. I guessed it could be a great night after all and started to move, when Justin called my name.  
"Alex."

I turned around and he was walking in my direction, carrying my white purse in his hand. When he was close enough, he threw it at me and it almost dropped to the ground.  
"What the heck, Justin," I yelled at him, but he just looked straight and walked past me.

"We are not talking to each other remember?" he said so quiet, I almost couldn´t hear it. I really hated him.

The door to the mansion was wide open and every dickhead could be here, so I prepared myself to meeting some idiots sooner or later. The party was already in full swing and I started to walk around to find one of my friends. The mansion was big, I mean really big. I swear the kitchen alone was as big as our whole first floor. I saw a few guys' already playing drinking games with slutty girls standing around, encouraging the boys to drink faster. The living room seemed to be the dance floor and I couldn´t believe how many people were dancing there. It was really full so I had to squeeze myself through the whole dancing crew to get to the terrace. The fresh air felt really good and I admired the beautiful view to downtown. Yep, Mason´s parents were not only rich but also really clever to build there mansion at exactly this place.

"Alex! You came," my best friend Harper hugged me from behind. "I thought that Justin and you would have had an accident on the way here" she said nonchalantly as if it would be something normal.

"Why did you think that?" I asked, turning around to face her. She was looking really pretty in a flowered dress with yellow shoes, pretty for Harper´s particular taste.

She played with her necklace and shrugged.  
"I mean you are fighting continuously, so I didn´t know what to think about you two in a car for almost half an hour" she explained. "By the way, you look really great today. Did Mason already see you?"

Harper was my best friend but she always tried to set me up with guys I never like. Best example Mason. He seemed to be a nice guy, but I really wasn´t interested in him. But Harper was firmly convinced that he was my second half like she was with Tim, Peter and Joey.

"Thank you and no, I didn´t see Mason and I definitely didn´t come because of him," I replied, receiving a grin from Harper that told me, she didn´t believe me one little bit. I smiled, linking arms with her when we went back into the living room.

"The music is so loud, I almost can´t hear my own voice," Harper yelled into my ear and I nodded, leading the way back to the dining room. I saw Justin talking to a guy I´ve never seen before and wondered if it was one of his nerd friends, when suddenly Mason headed our way, with a big grin on his face. Here we go I thought, smiling back at him.

"Looking for me?" he asked us and while I wanted to tell him not really, Harper nodded repeatedly, looking like a retard. I nudged her in the side and she stopped.

"A nice home you have here Mason," I complimented, starting small talk since I would feel really impolite to ignore the host of the party.

"Yes, it´s really awesome and really big," Harper added excited and I slowly asked myself if perhaps she was the one who was in love with Mason. They started talking together and I felt like the third wheel and excused myself to go to the bathroom. I assumed it should be upstairs and headed toward the winding staircase when I bumped into Justin.

"Looking for an adventure upstairs?" he asked me and I shook my head in confusion.

"What? I need to go to the rest room dork, so move," I replied, trying to push him out of my way but without success. "What now?"

"There´s a restroom behind the kitchen," he said, pointing to my right side. He started to annoy me again and I took a deep breath.

"Justin! Firstly, you told me you will not speak to me so please stick to it and second, what´s the difference if I go upstairs or behind the kitchen? A restroom is a restroom, so please move or there will be an accident," I said through greeted teeth, pulling him aside.

He sighed.  
"Fine then I have to go with you."

I stopped in my actions and faced him.  
"What is wrong with you?" He seemed bored by our little conversation, yawning right into my face. I could have killed him in that moment because he was really freaking me out. 

"I promised your mom Theresa, that I will keep an eye on you. So, as long as we are on the same floor I feel like I am keeping my word, but if you go upstairs, I need to follow you. A promise is a promise and I don´t want to have a bad conscience about lying to your mom."

I gave him a bored look.  
"Are you finished with your speech? For heaven´s sake, Justin! I am just going to the restroom upstairs. But wait, maybe you also want to join me inside? You can flush the toilet for me if you want." I couldn´t believe that he was such a pain in the neck tonight.  
"Gosh! Just go read a book or something," I added, stomping up the stairs.

The restroom was as big as my room and I stood there in awe, wishing to marry Mason right now. I remembered leaving Harper with Mason in the dining room, so I intended to head back when suddenly I crashed into a guy in the hall upstairs. Rather said he had clung to me, smelling awfully of alcohol. "Hey gorgeous," he slurred. "Care to join me in the bed room?"

Disgusted I pushed him away from me and considered going and wash my hands again, but finally decided just to look for Harper or Ashley. I needed some fun, right now.

When I walked downstairs I was relieved that Justin hadn´t waited for me and I began my search for the girls. I found Harper in the kitchen, nibbling on a potato chip, all by herself. 

"Where have you been Alex?" she asked me frustrated, taking a sip from her water.

"I was in the restroom. Why are you angry? It wouldn´t have taken me so long if my beloved stepbrother wouldn´t act like an idiot and-," I babbled away, but Harper wasn´t even listening.  
"Are you alright?" I asked her, a little hurt that she didn´t want to hear my story.

"No Alex, nothing´s alright!" she suddenly yelled, surprising me by her outburst. "Why is it that every guy I like is helplessly in love with you?" she asked, coming closer. Only then I noticed that the water Harper was drinking wasn´t exactly water.  
"And the best part about this is that you even don´t like any of them back!" Now I smelled the alcohol coming from her mouth and I put a hand on her shoulder.

"Harper, you are drunk, everything´s fine. Calm down okay. You-" She interrupted me by throwing her glass on the ground. 

"No! Nothing is fine Alex! Nothing!" I wasn´t really afraid, but I never saw her like this before, so I had a weird feeling in my stomach.  
"You think you are so badly off with your patchwork family. You whine every time when your mom forbids you from doing something and you are so annoyed by your stepbrother Justin, that´s really a hard life Alex, really hard!"

I didn´t understand what´s gotten into my best friend, but she started to say things, I didn´t like. "Harper, you-"

She grabbed my arm, holding tight.  
"No Alex, you listen to me, having a loving mother who cares about her daughter isn´t hard, having a stepbrother who cares about you although you make his life a living hell isn´t hard either. I would change with you immediately. Look at your little family and see that you have something wonderful. Every second girl in this world is dreaming about having someone like Justin as a stepbrother or parents who care when you are coming home too late."

I started to get angry, because she had no right to judge my family life. The fact that she had a really tight grip on my arm made me stay silent, afraid that she would do something unexpected. I thought she would say more, but she just became silent and a tear rolled down her cheek. She let go of my arm and took a few steps back.

"Harper," I tried but she shook with her head.

"Harper, it´s alright," I reassured her, but she seemed to be in her own little world. I wondered if she was on drugs, but I couldn´t tell exactly.

"Leave me alone," she suddenly yelled and gave me an angry glare. I never saw her like this before and all I wanted was my old Harper back.  
"Alex, leave me alone," she said again and it almost sounded like a threat.

I was desperate but turned around and walked out of the kitchen. My heart was banging hard against my chest and I leaned my back at the wall in the dining room, a tear was running down my cheek. What just had happened inside the kitchen was horrible. She was my best friend and I couldn´t even reach out to her 

"Alex?" I heard Justin´s voice, wiping my tears away with my hand.  
"Here you are. Ashley is looking for you. She is clinging to me like a bur so just go to-" He stopped in mid-sentence, coming closer.  
"What´s wrong?" he asked cool, grabbing my wrist. I was not in the mood to fight with him, so I just let him see the bruise forming on my arm.  
"What happened?" he asked again, starting to get impatient.  
"Was it something upstairs? A drunk guy?" His voice got louder and louder and he annoyed me more than ever. I pushed him aside and faced him. 

"Just stop Justin. You are making me sick with your upstairs-phobia. Nothing happened okay." It was the first time that I saw a genuine look on his face and for a second I forgot why I was mad at him. 

"Why are you crying then?" he asked me and I guessed that my red eyes gave it away. I don´t know if it was because of his genuine expression that was so new for me or just the situation that I wanted to speak with someone, but I sat down on the chair and told him everything that just happened in the kitchen with Harper. It was the first time ever that I had a conversation with my stepbrother without cursing and fighting.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! **Thanks for your reviews, I appreciate it :))

Here comes my next chapter and I hope you like it so far!

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**Chapter 2**

Justin´s POV

After Alex finished telling me about the incident with Harper, one thing didn´t leave my mind.

"She really said that I would care about you?" I asked her puzzled, shaking my head in disbelief. Alex gave me an angry look, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Justin, that´s not the point!" she retorted sharply and before I could say something else, we heard shattering of glass coming from the kitchen. I jumped to my feet, yanking the door open. Harper was dancing like a wasted ballerina around the table, stumbling at every second step. Shards of glass were spread on the ground and I assumed that she broke more than three of them.

"Harper," Alex called out, stepping in front of me, but her best friend ignored her totally. I decided to get her out of the kitchen because she had lost control completely. Carefully I stepped on the shattered glass to reach the dancing bear.

"Harper, it´s time to go home," I said firmly, grabbing her arm. It was the first time that she even noticed someone else was in the room, and she stopped swinging around. A smile appeared on her face when she recognized that it was me and she let me lead her out of the kitchen too willingly. When we passed a worried looking Alex, Harper gave her the cold shoulder, snuggling into me.

"Who did you come with?" I asked her, when we came to the lobby.

"Harper, who drove you here tonight?" I asked her again, emphasising every word. She looked up, baffled that I was standing in front of her and pointed to the left.  
"With Ashley," she slurred.  
"I came with Ashley but she is not going to bring me home right now." I was pretty sure that she was right, because it wasn´t even midnight and Ashley was one of the last people leaving a big party. Sighing, I guessed that I had to bring her home because I couldn´t let her stay there.

"I can´t believe that I just came here and already have to leave because of you Harper," I exclaimed, "And anyway, what did you drink back there?" Steadying her with one hand, I searched my pockets for the car keys.

"Great!" I remembered that I put them in Alex´s purse and turned around to look for her. She was not in eyeshot and I let out a growl. I bet she was already continuing to party and I have to take care of her completely drunk friend.

"Harper," I said, helping her to sit down on a chair.  
"Can you do me a favor and wait here for one second? I need to find Alex because she has my car keys." Harper growled when I mentioned Alex but smiled quickly after figuring out that I would take her home. I hesitated to leave her all by herself but we couldn´t go anywhere without my keys. I sprinted back into the dining room, hoping to find Alex there; when I noticed that the kitchen door was closed again. Curious I opened the door and couldn´t believe what I saw. Crawling on all fours, Alex was collecting the shards from the ground, messing up her dress. She was one of the laziest people I knew and seeing her like this didn´t make any sense, but on the other hand this evening should wear the title of the most pointless night ever.

"What are you doing?" I asked confused, stepping in front of her. She looked up for a second, blowing a loose curl out of her face.

"What do you think I am doing here Justin?" she asked annoyed and I shook my head, not believing that she was really cleaning up the mess.

"Alex, tomorrow at 6 am there will be like 45 cleaning ladies, payed for scrubbing and dusting the whole mansion. Stop taking away their jobs and give me your purse," I said, looking around for it. She stopped collecting, glancing at me as if I was crazy.

"No. What do you need my purse for?" I groaned and grabbed my stepsister´s arm, pulling her up.  
"I need my car keys," I replied impatiently, imagining Harper dancing around in the lobby, breaking anything and everything.

"I don´t have your keys," Alex retorted sharply, freaking me out.

"Alex. I put my car keys into your purse when you forgot it in the car so please give them to me. Your drunken friend is hopefully still sitting in the lobby, and I need to bring her home." She sighed, but finally started to look for her purse.

"Who allowed you to put your keys in my purse anyway," she mumbled as she found it.

"Whatever. Harper is your best friend so why don´t you care?" I asked while she was rummaging to find my keys.

"I don´t care? She freaking hates me right now Justin. I have no idea why but I guess it´s best to avoid her for the rest of the night." I sighed, grabbing the keys out from her hand.

"You are coming with us," I said, motioning her to follow me.

"No I am not. I didn´t even have fun yet," she proclaimed, pouting.

"Me neither," I let out frustrated.  
"I think I don´t have to remind you that it is because of your best friend that I have to leave the party. Apart from that, your mom will kill me if I arrive at home without you." She grimaced but seemed to get the idea.

"Fine, but if Harper starts to attack me in the car, you have to protect me," she said nonchalantly, starting to move. Did she really just tell me to protect her, I asked myself in surprise, following my stepsister into the lobby. I let out a sigh of relief when I spotted Harper sitting still at the same place where I left her. However as soon as she saw Alex, she jumped up, staggering in our direction. Alex stopped suddenly, making me bump into her.

"Is she coming with us?" Harper asked, pointing at Alex with a threatening finger.  
"I don´t want you to come with us Alex. You can have all the other boys, but leave Justin to me," she added and my stepsister shook her head in disbelief.

"What on earth is wrong with you?" Alex asked pushy, stepping up to Harper. I grabbed her by the arm, pulling her back. She seemed more than pissed off and I didn´t want her to attack her drunk best friend.

"Okay, we are all going to my car right now," I interrupted them.  
"And we will not start to fight, because we love each other very much." Harper linked arms with me and Alex was trotting in front of us with lowered head. This night was really crazy, because all of a sudden I felt sorry for my unspeakable annoying stepsister. She seemed really upset about Harper´s behaviour and tonight was the first time that I saw her so depressed.

When we got to the car, Alex sat in the back seat. Not saying a word when Harper blamed her for being selfish and nasty. She was just looking out the window, ignoring her best friend totally.

We drove more than half an hour to Harper´s place and I thanked god that I didn´t have an accident when the drunk ballerina beside me had reached for the steering wheel two times in quick succession.

"Do you have your house keys?" I asked her, while she was unfastening her seatbelt. She gave me a big smile and nodded.

"Thank you Justin. See you around," she said sweetly, giving me a big hug.

"Sure," I replied and waited for her to go inside until I started the engine. I almost forgot Alex in the backseat and took a look in the rear-view mirror.

"Hey, you want to sit in the front?" She glanced back at me in the mirror, shaking her head.

"I am fine. Get a move on," she replied grumpy, kicking against my seat.

"Hey if you are having problems with your friend, you don´t have to take it out on me, okay!" I said annoyed, my sympathy for her already gone. I started the motor and she felt silent again. It was fine by me and I turned on the radio.

"Oh and by the way, you should text Ashley and let her know that Harper is already home so she won´t panic when she cannot find her anymore," I said, receiving a growl in respond.

"Why do you care about Ashley? Why do you care about people at all Justin? Why are you so sensitive? Is that why every girl likes you so much? Are my friends actually just using me to have a reason to talk to you?" she started asking me hundreds of questions and I turned down the music.

"What?" I asked her confused and she shifted in her seat.

"Am I that evil and unkind that no normal person wants to hang around with me?" I stopped at a red light, turning around in my seat to glance at her. She had watery eyes, trying hard to control her feelings. Again, I never saw that side of her before and I had no idea what to do.

"It´s green," she said meekly and I pressed on the gas pedal.

"All things Harper said are true aren´t they?" she asked another question and I took a deep breath.

"Harper was drunk, so don´t take it too seriously," I replied, not wanting her to start crying. It was an uncomfortable situation for me and I just wanted to be home already.

"They say, that you are most honest when you are drunk," she added and I agreed mentally.

"Oh my gosh, I didn´t even noticed how bad of a person I really am." I couldn´t believe that she was saying these words and I asked myself if she drank something as well.

"Alex, are you drunk because you seem not to be yourself right now?"

"No Justin. I just became aware of my bad personality and you are asking me if I am drunk?" Suddenly I was distracted by a police car, standing in the middle of the road and I slowed down. We were on a dirt road with one car passing by every half an hour so it was really strange for the police to be there. I brought the car to a halt and unfastened my seatbelt. Two officers were sitting inside the car, looking at a map. Before I even had the time to open the door, Alex already stepped out of the car, heading to the cruiser. Overconfident she knocked at their window pane and I already expected them to pull out their gun and aim at her.

"Alex," I hissed, following her.  
"You can´t just knock on a police car in the middle of nowhere, they are going to think that you are dangerous" I said, when one of the officers rolled down his window.

"Hey there," she greeted them.  
"Is there a reason you are standing in the middle of the road?" I coughed slightly, pushing her aside.

"What she meant officer was, if there is something wrong here?" I asked politely and the bearded guy pointed behind us.

"We just got a call that there is a serial killer hiding in this woods," he said alarming and before I could start panicking I noticed the big grin on the face of the other officer. He was joking and I started laughing, while Alex stepped closer to me, grabbing my arm with both hands.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked me horrified, not noticing that it was just a joke.

"Let´s go back in the car," she added, pulling at my arm. Now the bearded officer started to laugh as well and Alex gave him a confused look.

"Don´t worry little lady, I was just messing with you. No serial killer, at least no one that I know" he said, laughing again. Alex let go of my arm and leaned forward to the bearded officer.

"Not funny," she hissed.  
"So why are you here than? Telling people listless jokes about serial killers? You have a really responsible job" she added sarcastically and I grabbed her wrist, pulling her away from the car.

"Listen smarty-pants, if you don´t want to be accused of insulting a police officer, you better go back inside the car," I warned her and to my surprise she listened and turned around, but not before letting out a loud growl.

"Sorry officer," I apologized for Alex.  
"She´s already in a bad mood today, and a little grumpy so can we pass you or is there a problem with the road?" The blonde officer on the passenger seat smiled at me.  
"Yes, you can pass us. We just got lost on this path, so we needed to stop and look at the map. But now we know so you go ahead and don´t provoke your girlfriend anymore" he winked at me and I laughed.

"Oh, okay, but she´s my sister" I replied automatically and the bearded officer looked up.

"Really? You don´t look alike at all" he stated and I scratched my head.

"Well, actually she is my stepsister" I replied and both of them started laughing.

"Here we are. Now it´s making perfect sense," the blonde said.

"She still can be your girlfriend since you are not related" he added and I shook my head in disgust at the same time as Alex was honking. A deer pounded past and I said goodbye to the nicest police officers I´ve ever met.

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	3. Chapter 3

**Thank u all **who read and review my story!

Here´s the next chapter. Enjoy :)

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**Chapter 3**

Alex´s POV

It was the next morning after the party. When I woke up all the memories from the night before came back. Sleepily I rolled to the side, reaching for my phone. I had 12 missed calls and five text messages. I must be very popular, I thought, reading over the messages with one eye closed because of the bright light. They were all from Harper and how bad she felt and she needed to talk to me immediately. Before I could even text her back, my door flung open and my best friend was storming into my room.

"You are awake. Great!" she let out, sitting on my bed.

"Alex I am so, so, so sorry! I am really sorry! I woke up today and felt like an idiot. I can´t believe how I acted yesterday. Please forgive me." Still dazed with sleep, I sat upright, rubbing my eyes.

"Who let you in?" I asked, couldn´t think of something else to say. She gave me a confused look.

"Your brother," she replied, reddening slowly.

"Gosh, I really feel ashamed of myself how I acted yesterday in front of you two." I nodded understandingly.

"Apart from the fact that Justin is not my brother, I believe you and I accept your apology." A smile appeared on her face and she reached forward to hug me, but I stopped her with my hands.

"But," I started and her smile disappeared quickly.

"You spoiled the whole party for me and made me feel like I am the worst person, living on the planet." She looked down, playing with the edge of her skirt.

"I know. I was just so upset when Mason told me that he likes you and I started drinking more than I could handle. I am really sorry Alex. I know that I ruined your whole night." I grabbed her hand, smiling at her.

"It´s okay, actually, my night got even worse, but don´t ask," I replied, thinking of the wannabe funny police officers.

"Nevertheless the things you said were kind of true, so generally speaking you and me are even," I added and gave her a big hug. Almost crushing me, she laughed.

"Thank you best friend and you are not half as bad as you think you are" she said, grinning relieved.

"But now I have to go back home. It´s laundry day and my mom will kill me if don´t help her." She gave me one last hug and left, leaving my door wide open. I stood up, intending to close it, when Justin walked into my room. Standing there in my hotpants and a white tank top, I started to feel awkward, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"Congratulations! You won the school research trip to Venezuela," he announced, holding a letter in his hand.

"Justin! I told you not to come into my-" I stopped, thinking about what he said.

"Wait, I am going to go to Venezuela? I was really drawn by lot?" Once in a year our school had a big research event and four or five students had the great opportunity to go on a trip to a country in South America, observing the people and their life there. This year the destination was Venezuela and the students were all drawn by lots. I couldn´t believe that I was one of them, starting to feel excited. Justin was still standing there, holding my letter in his hands.

"Why are you reading my post?" I scolded him, intending to grab the paper out of his hand, but he moved it out of my reach.

"Wait, wait little miss lucky. This is directed for you and me," he pointed out, showing me the recipients address. I grabbed the letter out of his hands, reading our both names on the envelope.

"Why they are mentioning you as well?" I asked curious, looking over the letter.

"..That by big chance you were both drawn by lot to go to this trip," I read the last part out loud, almost fainting. That couldn´t really be happening I thought, glancing at my stepbrother, who gave me a mischievous grin.

"No!" I let out, shaking with my head.

"No, no, no, no." I dropped the letter to the ground, jumped back into my bed and covered myself with the blanket.

"That´s only a dream and I have to wake up right now," I yelled, receiving a big laugh from Justin.

"Man, this performance of yours is really worth seeing," he said under laughter and I threw my pillow at him, missing my stepbrother by a country mile of course. I was really bad at aiming and that made him laugh even harder.

"Justin that´s not funny!" I yelled at him, standing up again.

"That´s a disaster!" He nodded, lifting up the letter from the ground.

"Yes, you are right. The thing that´s really funny is that Kevin and Thea are coming with us," he let out and my mouth went open widely. Kevin was the guy who has been in love with me for more than two years. He was following me around, writing me love letters and giving me lustful looks every time I saw him in school.

"Please kill me now," I said desperately, sitting on the edge of my bed. Justin chuckled, sighing as I exaggerated.

"Well, one man´s joy is another man´s sorrow or should I say woman´s sorrow," he added and I was really, ready to go for his throat.

"I am sure it comforts you that your mom will be happy that you are not going there all by yourself but with your caring stepbrother," he joked and I let out a shriek.

"Get out of my room NOW!" I yelled at him.

"And close the freaking door behind you!" I added when he turned around, laughing hard. That was it, I thought. There must be some point in my life where I had behaved really badly and this was the punishment for it. Leaning back I closed my eyes, digesting the information. In one week I was going to go to Venezuela with a guy who was following me around like my shadow, an overweighed girl who was eating every free minute and to give this tour a final touch, my dorky stepbrother who was freaking me out. Awesome!

After I changed clothes, I walked down, heading for the kitchen. Max was sitting there, eating cereals and watching TV.

"Hey buddy," I greeted him, opening the refrigerator.

"Hi," he replied absentminded, totally focused on the cartoon show. Making myself a bowl of cereal, I sat beside him, glancing at my little stepbrother. Only then I noticed a big scar under his left eye.

"Max," I let out, cupping his chin to look at his face closely. He dropped his spoon in surprise, watching me with big eyes.

"What happened to your face?" I asked, touching the scar lightly.

"Nothing," Max said, turning back to the TV.

"Max, who did this to you?" I insisted to know and he sighed dramatically. He was just like his brother.

"I bumped against the door," he replied, his eyes not leaving the screen. I didn´t believe a word, but I decided to let him eat his cereal first before asking him more. Seconds later Justin appeared in the kitchen and I growled mentally, remembering the bad news from before.

"Hey Maxi, where´s dad?" he asked his brother, standing beside me. Max looked up, shrugging.

"I didn´t see him this morning." Before I knew it, Justin leaned forward, grabbing Max´s chin like I did before.

"Gosh, what´s wrong with you two today, touching my face?" Max let out but couldn´t turn his face away.

"Who was it?" Justin asked with a firm voice, surprising me. I had never heard him speaking so serious before.

"Max! Tell me what happened!" He insisted, his voice rising. Max was staring back at the TV, not saying a word. Consequently Justin grabbed the remote and turned his brother´s favourite cartoon off.

"What are you doing?" Max yelled at him, reaching for the remote but Justin put it behind his back.

"Nothing happened. I walked into the door."

"Don´t tell me stories Max. I already bumped against a door and it doesn´t look like this. I am pretty sure someone hit you, isn´t that so?" Justin asked and I started to feel bad for Max. I liked him like my own brother and no one had the right to hit him.

"Max, tell me!" Justin yelled suddenly, making him cringe.

"Stop yelling at him," I defended Max, hitting Justin in the side. He looked down at me and I was surprised by his angry glare.

"This has nothing to do with you Alex, so keep your mouth shut." I just wanted to yell at him for being an ass when Max suddenly started crying. Surprised I stood up, pushing Justin to the side.

"Max, everything is alright," I said kindly, wrapping my arms around my little stepbrother. It was breaking my heart seeing him like this.

"I didn´t give him the money, so he just hit me," he told us with a sob after I released him.

"Who hit you?" Justin was asking, this time more sympathetic.

"Tell me his name and I will teach him the ins and outs." I turned around, looking at him.

"So you want to go and beat up a kid?" I asked Justin suspicious and he made a face.

"Alex, just move," he replied then annoyed, pushing me away.

"Okay buddy, are you going to tell me what happened?" he asked his brother, giving him a warm smile and I wondered if he had ever smiled at me like this. Max nodded and although I was pretty curious about what had happened; I also felt that this should be a talk from brother to brother. I stroked over Max´s arm, gave him a quick smile and left the kitchen.

"Now that she´s away we can talk," I heard Justin saying and I growled again. He was still a jerk, admittedly a jerk that cared about his brother but still a jerk. I walked up to my room, texting Harper about my trip to Venezuela. When my phone started to ring seconds later, I assumed it was her but I was wrong.

"Hello?" I asked, curious about the unknown caller.

"Alex?" a male voice asked and I didn´t recognize the voice.

"Yes, who is there?" I asked and the guy took a deep breath.

"Well, it's Kevin from school. We have history class together remember?" I almost dropped my phone out of shock. How did he get my number? I was thinking, sitting on my bed.

"Yeah, ahm, I know who you are. What do you want?" I said bored and he coughed slightly.

"I don´t know if you already got the letter because of the Venezuela trip but I just wanted to say that I am really enthusiastic about it," he replied and it made me wanna puke.

"What are you going to take with you?" he added while I was wondering how I could change my phone number immediately.

"Look Kevin, I don´t have much time right now," I lied.

"So maybe you can call Justin or Thea since they are going as well." He was silent for a moment, before laughing awkwardly.

"Oh okay or maybe I could just call you later," he suggested and I jumped to my feet.

"No, no. I mean, really, I don´t know at all what I am going to pack so you should really ask someone else okay? I have to go now. Bye," I added quickly and just hung up. I couldn´t believe that he called me and saved his number under 'Do not answer'.

"Alex, come here," I heard Justin yelling from downstairs suddenly but ignored him. If he wanted something from me, he should move his butt upstairs.

"Alex!" he yelled again, annoying me like always.

"Aaaaaleeeeeex," he tried again and I stormed outside my room, totally upset about the whole day already.

"WHAT?" I yelled back when I got to the living room. He was standing there with crossed arms, Max sitting behind him on the sofa.

"Aren´t you buddy-buddy with Mason?" he asked me, surprising me with that question.

"Why do you want to know that?" I wondered and he rolled with his eyes.

"Can you please stop answering a question with a question every time? Are you good friends or not?" I shrugged.

"I don´t know. We talk sometimes in school but I wouldn´t call that being friends. Why?"

"Because it´s Mason´s little brother Dylan who started threatening Max if he will not give him money." I was taken aback but I didn´t even know that Mason had a brother.

"I want you to talk to Mason that he should talk with his brother and tell him to stop doing that or I will stop him," Justin added fierce, glaring at me.

"Why are you looking at me as if I told Dylan to beat Max up?" I asked him angrily, stepping closer.

"I like him like my own brother so don´t let your anger out on me!" Max stood up, walked towards me and put his arm around my waist.

"Yes. Stop yelling at Alex, Justin," he defended me and I patted his head as a thank you. Justin closed his eyes for a second, sighing.

"Will you talk to him or not?" he asked me much nicer and I nodded.

"Then what are you waiting for?" I gave him a confused look.

"Now?"

"Why not? It´s not like you are busy studying or something," he replied sarcastically and I grimaced at his lame joke.

"I will talk to him at school on Monday or do you expect me to drive over to his house right now?" Justin let out a short laugh.

"You could do that as well and since you will be there already you can help clean up," he replied, referring to the night before at the party.

"Very funny Justin," I said to him, while he was grinning like an idiot. Max clapped his hand on his forehead, sighing dramatically.

"You two are really hard to take. I need to watch a little more TV," he said, sitting back on the sofa.

"And I need to get away from you," I let out, pointing at my older stepbrother.

"And I need to get away from you," he mimicked, pretending to be me while walking out of the living room.

"I definitely don´t move like that!" I yelled after him, glancing at Max who was already absorbed in his show. Why did I have to have two stepbrothers? One would have been surely enough. It was unfair to be the only girl. My dad had died from cancer when I was 14 so I was not really enthusiastic when my mom met Jerry one year later. Although he was really likeable from the first moment on, I was definitely not ready for a new dad. Months after our first meeting I got used to him and I already got used to the thought that my mom would marry him some day. But what no one told me before was that Jerry had two sons and the day I met Justin and Max changed my normal sweet life forever. Remembering my dad, I started to feel sad, sitting down beside Max on the sofa. I knew that his mom had left them one year after Max was born. I asked myself if it was harder to loose someone because of death or to loose someone who left you behind voluntarily. Justin never spoke about their mom and I am pretty sure that he hated her for leaving them. Suddenly I had the urge to talk with him about his mom and how it felt to be left alone because still it had similarities with my life. We both lost one of our parents in a young age. I sighed. Unfortunately I couldn´t talk to him about that, actually I couldn´t talk to him at all, apart from arguing, bickering and talking only if necessary.

"Alex," Max said, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Do you think that I am a nerd?" I turned my head, glancing at him.

"No. Who told you that?" Max shrugged.

"Dylan. He said that I am a nerd and that´s why he is asking me, because I irritate him." I shook with my head.

"Maxi, This Dylan is a stupid jerk. He doesn´t know you at all, or else he wouldn´t do that. You are not a nerd! Your brother is a nerd, but you are a really cool guy. You are friendly with all people and have a good heart so maybe that´s why he thinks it´s easier to threaten you. I will talk to his brother and he will stop that, I am sure. If not, Justin will help out and then he will stop for sure." Max took a relieved breath.

"That sounds good."

"I agree," Justin said and I hadn´t even noticed that he was standing behind us.

"The only part I didn´t like was Justin is a nerd, but no speech can be perfect right?" he added and I turned around, glaring at him.

"You are a nerd and boring, so I couldn´t change that part," I said, standing up.

"And you like me still," he replied and I almost stumbled over the glass table.

"I do what?" I asked, walking up to him.

"You like me," he said in a robotic voice and I rolled with my eyes.

"See I knew it," he added and I gave him a confused look.

"What do you know?" He grinned proudly.

"Three-seconds-rule" I was already bored.

"What rule?"

"If you don´t protest in three seconds after someone made a statement, you agree with him," he said, pointing at me. I growled, shaking with my head.

"I´ve never heard of that. You made that one up right? Apart from that" I said, pinching him in his arm.

"There are always a few exceptions." Justin laughed.

"Exceptions prove the rule so don´t hide it. You know you like me."

" I knew that he was teasing me but I started to ask myself if he was right. I didn´t believe his invented Three-seconds-rule but I wondered if getting used to someone is the same as liking him.

"Go study something," I said, pushing him out of my way while he was laughing.

"The quarrel of lovers is the renewal of love," Max let out and I growled.

"Shut up Max!" I said when my mom came into the room.

"Watch your mouth Alex," she scolded me, before sitting down.

"What did I hear about love?"

"Alex loves Justin," Max said and I groaned. That´s the perfect way to spread rumours, I thought.

"Tell me something new," my mom replied, shocking me.

"Mom!" I let out. They made me feel like I was in love with someone and still denied it. Justin laughed, glancing at me.

"You want to tell me now?" I hit him in the arm, turning away.

"Why is everyone making fun of me?" I whined, heading for the stairs.

"Because we all love you too," my mom said happily and I rolled with my eyes, leaving for my room.


	4. Chapter 4

I know I didn´t update for a long time but i just try it once again. So here we go..

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**Chapter 4**

Justin´s POV

"I don´t want you both to argue all the time, you understand me?" dad asked, a deep worry line appearing on his forehead. He had brought us to the airport and now it was time to say goodbye. Alex was pulling out her suitcase from the trunk, sighing dramatically.

"Alex, did you hear what _my_ dad said?" I asked her while she hugged him for goodbye.

"I'll try my best," she said, receiving a broad smile from dad. How could he not see how evil she was, I thought, hugging him as well.

"Take care of her," my father said, releasing me and I shrugged. "No Justin, I really mean it. Just watch out for her once in a while okay?" I nodded unwilling and then turned around, heading for the entrance.

I almost started laughing when I spotted our Venezuela group waiting near the counter. Alex was standing as far as possible away from the others, playing with her phone, while Kevin was gazing at her like she was the queen of England. Our teacher Mrs Dillan, who would accompany us to Venezuela, was speaking with the man at the counter, while Thea was sitting on her suitcase, eating a sandwich.

"Well, let´s get it over with," I said, clapping my hands, receiving a shy smile from Thea and an evil glare from my stepsister.

"Okay, students, we can now board the plane," Mrs Dillan said with an exciting voice, smiling widely, while handing out our tickets.

"Yay," Alex let out sarcastically, starting to move and I followed her closely.

"Why are you even coming along to Venezuela with that attitude of yours?" I asked her, while we were entering the plane.

"Why are you talking to me?" she replied, sitting down next to my seat.

"What a coincidence," I said, sitting down next to her, "I guess they assumed we'd want to sit together since we are one happy family," I added, while she glared at me.

"Justin, just shut up okay?" she retorted, glancing out of the window.

I relaxed in my seat, while the stewardess started to explain the emergency ways. Alex was fastening her belt, thrumming with her fingers on the arm support. I noticed that she was white as salt, breathing heavily.

"Are you going to puke or what?" I asked her disgusted.

"Shut up," she replied, while the plane started rolling.

"Are you afraid of flying?" I continued asking her, but she didn´t look at me at all.

"Alex?" I asked again, this time out of curiosity, poking her hand.

There were a few turbulences and the plane was shaking a little bit and before I knew it, Alex clasped my arm, like it could save her from a plane crash.

First I wanted to shake her off but out of pity I let her hold my arm, closing my eyes.

I guess I fell asleep immediately because when I opened my eyes again, the stewardess was already preparing us for the landing. I glanced at my right side where Alex was deep asleep with one hand still grabbing at my sleeve.

I nudged her in the side. "Wake up, where crashing," I whispered so the others wouldn't hear me. She shot up from her seat, eyes wide open.

Before she could say something I started laughing. "Relax, I was just joking. We are about to land."

"Very funny," she retorted, looking around to see if everything was alright.

I lifted my arm, which she was still holding on to. "Can I have it back?"

She groaned, hitting my arm away. "That was just a reflex," she explained, looking out of the window again.

I grinned, fastening my belt as well. "Interesting reflex you have there," I replied and she glared at me for the 9th time today.

The small airport in Venezuela looked really shabby and old. The first thing I noticed getting out of the plane was the brutal heat and stifling air surrounding us. I took off my sweatshirt, receiving a questioning look from Alex.

"Trying to scare the people away?" she asked while we were waiting for our suitcases.

"Weird, with that look on your face, I just wanted to ask you the same," I retorted. Alex rolled her eyes, pulling her hair up to a ponytail.

"Don't miss your suitcases students we have to catch our bus on time," Mrs Dillan shouted as if we were a group of 30 people. She was a skinny and really tall woman in her 30´s and I don't think that she was capable of handling any unplanned situations. Her glasses were way too small for her big eyes but that was just my opinion.

"There is mine," Alex suddenly said, grabbing for her suitcase, bumping into a middle-aged man. "I'm sorry," she excused herself, as polite as she always was with strangers.

"Use your eyes!" the red haired man replied grimly, "spoiled child."

"I am sorry what did you just say?" Alex turned around, facing the man, who was way taller than her.

"Here we go," I whispered, preparing for a big scenario. My suitcase was in sight and I reached forward to lift it up.

"You heard me," the man grumbled, pushing Alex out of his way so she bumped into my side. I was still trying not to interfere because I just didn´t want to, so I grabbed Alex's arm to move her away. But I should know her better by now and she freed herself, stepping in front of the Venezuelan.

"I already said I am sorry. What´s your problem?" she confronted him and I sighed.

"Students let's go," Mrs Dillan shouted again and for a second I thought about leaving but the angry glare from this man made me stay.

"If you don´t disappear out of my sight you will have a big problem," he hissed, coming closer to Alex.

I grabbed her arm again, firmly this time, pulling her away. "Let's go!" I was glad that the airport was really small so we didn´t have a lot of bystanders but the whole situation was just really needless.

"No," she said through greeted teeth, trying to release herself from my grip.

"Alex, we have to get to the bus, so grab your stupid suitcase and let's go!" I said, pulling her along with me.

"Let go of my arm," she hissed at me, when we were exiting the airport. After a few more steps I was sure that she wouldn´t turn back so I released her.

"Thanks for nothing," she stated furiously.

"What did you expect me to do? Fight with this guy because he wounded your pride? We didn't even get out from the airport yet and you already start a drama with a Venezuelan. What´s wrong with you?" I hissed back at her, while we were following the others for the bus.

"He insulted me for no reason and I should just accept that? You could at least defend me," she replied really mad.

"There was no need," I just said and then our fight was over since Mrs Dillan started talking about our next stop.

The short bus was stuffier than anything I rode before and I sat down at the seat in the back, pulling down my window. We were in a pretty dusty region, not really a tourist location, but I hoped for better at our destination.

I glanced at Alex who was sitting two rows in front of me, headphones in her ears, looking out the window. Kevin was sitting right next to me, leaning back in his seat.

"What is wrong with you two?" he suddenly asked while the driver started the engine with a loud rattle.

"What do you mean?" I asked, eyeing him questioningly. We almost never talked with each other because he was just not one of my friends but I guess there was no getting round it in the next three weeks.

"Alex and you. Aren´t you brother and sister?" he continued asking while the bus was driving really fast and pretty hectic on the narrow street.

"She´s my stepsister," I corrected him, "and there´s nothing wrong so don´t worry," I added, hoping to end this topic now. Luckily he stopped asking and I leaned back in my seat, watching out of the window.

We were driving a pretty narrow road with many curves and for my taste the driver was way too fast. The street was dusty and had many small stones, which were flying around in every direction.

"Hey driver, can you slow down a little bit?" I yelled to the front, but he didn´t seem to understand anything. Great I thought, already imagining us tilting in a wide curve.

"Don't worry, I am pretty sure that he knows these streets inside out," Kevin tried to calm me down but I didn´t react because in the same moment the drama really happened. The driver didn´t get the next curve because of the high speed and before I knew it we were crashing on one side, stopping at the edge.

The few people in the bus started to shout in a foreign language as the bus was threatening to tip down the dusty hill. I got out from my seat, noticing the first people climbing out of the windows at the top.

"Kevin climb out," I shouted while fighting my way to the front where Alex was trying to get up from the ground. I grabbed her both arms, lifting her up. "Come on, the bus will tip down any second," I said, leading her to a free window.

"What now?" she asked afraid, glancing at me with big eyes.

"Wait here, I will pull you up," I ordered, climbing out of the crashed window. A Venezuelan helped me up and then jumped down from the bus. I turned around reaching my hands down for Alex. "Come on," I yelled and she grabbed my right hand but then suddenly let go again, turning away.

"Thea," I heard her yell, looking to her right side. "What are you doing there?"

I could see Thea through the broken window, lurking on the ground with her head in her hands.

"Alex!" I yelled, "Come on! We don´t have time!"

"Thea, come on! Justin will help you out," I heard Alex saying, praying that the bus will stand still.

The other people were shouting and yelling something but I couldn´t understand them. Finally Thea were standing under the window and I reached for her hands. "Come on."

She hesitated for a moment but Alex grabbed her hand and connected it with mine. Thea was heavier than I expected but with my last ounce of strength I could help her up. When she jumped from the bus I felt it moving again, reaching my hands down for Alex. "Quick."

I pulled her up and then jumped down from the bus, pulling her with me. The others sighed relieved, while I sat down on the ground, watching the bus falling down the hill a few seconds later. Alex sat down next to me, coughing from the dust flying around everywhere.

"Oh my god, are you alright?" Mrs Dillan appeared, breathing heavily. I glanced at Alex who had red cheeks, trembling slightly.

"Are you okay?" I asked her concerned putting my hand on her leg. She nodded, still gazing at the place where the bus had been standing seconds before.

"Nice way to start the trip," I heard Kevin say and I had a weird feeling in my stomach that this was just the beginning.

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What do u think?


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